Airport Research Center

CAST Terminal is the only multi-agent airport terminal simulator, which offers a completely three-dimensional environment combined with realistic passenger flow behaviour. This sophisticated software tool presents detailed and realistic 3D models of airport terminals and other buildings to enable decision support, planning, design and analysis. An entire airport can be examined, or its individual parts can be considered in detail in order to cost-effectively conduct analyses aimed at:

• Planning of optimal future airport infrastructure developments
• Identifying bottlenecks and solutions to complex operational problems and planning tasks
• Improving terminal capacity without reduction of operational quality
• Identifying the most efficient and cost-effective options
• Optimising retail facilities and ensuring highest passenger convenience
• Supporting tactical and strategic decision-making in airport operations and management

CAST Terminal significantly improves the planning process, offers highest reliability and helps achieve quicker results and better cost efficiencies.

Key features

• Analysis of various terminal layouts and operational strategies
• Determination of the number of facilities required
• Identification of potentials in capacity
• Simple and straightforward modelling with predefined modules
• Realistic passenger behaviour and highly detailed personal properties (e.g. comfort distance, walking speed, etc.)
• Passenger flows directly respond to layout changes
• Planning by simulation
• Comprehensive analysis options and online charts

 Technical facts

• Runs on a standard PC
• Microsoft Windows required

Scope of the application

CAST Terminal is a dynamic multi-agent simulation tool. The processing and the analysis of passenger behaviour and passenger flow are performed by a powerful 3D environment, which guarantees a maximum of optimisation capabilities in the early planning stages. With its user-friendly interface CAST Terminal provides its users with fast and straightforward modelling of complex structures as they appear in airport-terminals. Users therefore dispose of both known concepts, the latest technologies and procedures of evaluation and implementation. Numerous possibilities to recover statistical data concerning terminal facilities, service-processes and individual passengers as well as the top-quality visualisation represent the indispensable added value of CAST Terminal.

The major advantages and benefits of CAST Terminal are:

• Fast, simple and straightforward terminal modelling
• Building a set structure with base components of all service facilities (e.g. check-in counter, security control, etc.)
• Accurate presentation of facilities and processes
• Target-oriented investigation of particular process quality-criteria (e.g. level of service)
• Unlimited options of passenger type differentiation
• Time efficient modelling through simulation in three different levels of detail
• Powerful reporting features, even analysis during simulation (charts, statistics)
• Appealing presentation of terminal environment and processes through import options for DXF and 3DS data

CAST Terminal provides top-quality visualisation of all activities and processes within airport terminals. This essentially facilitates a detailed analysis of the utilisation of stopover and movement areas as well as waiting queue development. The most important evaluation options of CAST Terminal are:

• Utilisation of stopover-, movement- and queuing areas
• Journey duration of passengers in the terminal
• Passenger waiting times and queue lengths
• Service times of passenger service facilities

For more detailed information and characteristics of CAST Terminal point to Projects / BAA-CAST Terminal.

CAST Terminal has been developed by the Airport Research Center in cooperation with T-Systems and BAA.

Object list

The following list provides an impression of the airport elements which are predefined within CAST Terminal. Each element can be inserted by just on mouse click. A specific configuration by a context menue takes only seconds.

The CAST fast-time simulation tool is maintained and exploited by the EUROCONTROL Experimental Centre (EEC) [EEC Fast Time Simulation Tools]

References / Customers

CAST has been developed by users for users with partners like BAA, Frankfurt Airport, Zurich Airport, Eurocontrol and Airbus. CAST has a steady / rapid growing world wide user community of airports, authorities, planners and consultants.

For more information please see the clients page or corresponding projects page.

Online presentation

View the Cast Terminal Online Presentation including videos.

Download more Information

Purchase CAST or book ARC's Consulting Services

To ensure the highest efficiency ARC does not only provide the CAST software, but on demand also offers consulting services and support in the application of CAST. ARC strives for a long term cooperation and sustainable product maintenance.

For more information click here